Einsteinium (EMC2) is a cryptocurrency designed to save science by raising funds for research. Strangely enough, Einsteinium might offer a new model for taxation – that can help governments raise money from cryptocurrency.

EMC2 is a Bitcoin-knockoff with a philanthropic goal to raise money for scientific research, education, cutting-edge information technology research, and cryptocurrency projects. The hope is to generate funds for science and technology at a time when the U.S. government is cutting research funding.

The organization behind EMC2; the Einsteinium Foundation, has raised around $17.60 million (23,151 ETH) for research with a mining tax. The tax collected 16 million EMC2 tokens; with a Coin Price of 95.5¢ (.001 ETH) on 23 December 2017, to fund grants to applicants.

Mining Tax shows how Governments might Profit from Cryptocurrency

The Foundation was able to raise those funds by placing a tax on mining, taking a percentage of the value of each EMC2 Token created. The levy is similar to the sales and value-added taxes (VAT) collected by many governments.

The mining tax is potentially revolutionary because it gives governments a means of profiting from cryptocurrency. Nations with cheap electricity can levy such a tax on mining operations, or pools. Then deposit the proceeds in a wealth fund or the national treasury.

Average Venezuelans can make around $500 (0.63 ETH) a month from Bitcoin mining, a fortune in a nation plagued with hyperinflation, The Atlantic reported. Cryptocurrency mining is lucrative because of Venezuela’s cheap electricity. Mining has become some common in Venezuela, some economists think it is sustaining the nation’s economy.

Venezuela’s government might be able to sustain its operations; or finance the power system, by taxing cryptocurrency mining. A lot of altcoin geeks would hate that, but such taxes might ensure cryptocurrency’s future; by giving government an incentive to encourage rather than ban its’ use.

Venezuela announces Oil-Backed Cryptocurrency

Not surprisingly, Venezuela’s President Nicholas Maduro has jumped on the cryptocurrency bandwagon and announced an oil-backed altcoin called the Petro, Reuters reported. Maduro claimed the Petro will be backed by Venezuela’s oil, diamond, and gold reserves.

The Petro will probably be a lousy investment because Venezuela’s fiat currency; the Bolivar, is suffering from hyperinflation that might be approaching 4,000%, Bloomberg View reported. Maduro apparently hopes the Petro will help his nation get around U.S. sanctions. Note I could not find the Petro listed at Coinmarketcap on 25 December 2017, so it might not be for real.

Estonia Plans Euro-backed Cryptocurrency ICO

Venezuela is not alone, the Republic of Estonia is planning an Initial Cryptocurrency Offering (ICO) for its digital currency estcoin, Futurism reported. Estcoin is supposed to have a value linked to the Euro, its uses will be to power Estonia’s e-Residency program and to serve as a community token.

Unlike the Petro, Estcoin would be valuable because it is backed by the Euro, Estonia’s fiat currency, Kaspar Korjus; the Managing Director of Estonia’s e-Residency program revealed. The Euro was valued $1.19 (0.017 ETH) on 25 December, so the theoretical Coin Price of the Estcoin might be $1.19 (0.017 ETH).

The e-Residency scheme allows people anywhere in the world to have some citizenship rights in Estonia – a member of the European Union. e-Residency and ecstcoin are part of an initiative to make Estonia, a former Soviet Republic on the Baltic, a “digital nation.”

It goes without saying that the Estonian government can potentially raise a lot of money by mining estcoin, or charge a mining tax on estcoin. Korjus estimated that around 200 million people around the world have expressed in estcoin, so it is a potential cash cow.

The e-Residency effort is already a moneymaker for Estonia, the program has already raised €14.4 million ($17.08 million or 224,749 ETH) which is a lot of revenue for a country of 1.316 million people, Korjus revealed. The e-Residency program’s revenues were projected to grow to €1.8 billion ($2.13 billion or 28.10 million ETH) by 2025 by Deloitte.

Some details of Estonian ICO available

Many details about the estcoin ICO including the technology behind, are unknown. Most observers think estcoin would be Ethereum-based because that cryptocurrency’s creator Vitalik Buterin has been advising the Estonian government.

Korjus mentioned three varieties of the token; a community estcoin, which would be used by e-Residents, an identity estcoin that could only be used by e-Residents, and the Euro estcoin. It is not clear if these cryptocurrencies would have separate ICOs or where they would trade.

There are unconfirmed rumors that Estonia is planning a national cryptocurrency or crypto token exchange that will be regulated by its government. That exchange would be operated by a private company and financed by an ICO. Proceeds from the exchange would finance a wealth fund designed to help Estonia’s people.

Is Einsteinium a Good Investment?

All this will have many observers wondering if Einsteinium; the taxable cryptocurrency, is a good investment? At the moment, the answer might be yes.

EMC2 achieved a respectable Coin Price of 95.5 (0.001 ETH) on a Market Capitalization of $206.592 million (271,756 ETH) and a Market Volume of $12.31 million (16,192 ETH) on 23 December 2017. All that came from a Circulating Supply of 216.197 million.

Einsteinium would be vulnerable to inflation because there is Total Supply or limit on mining. The Foundation claims it can minimize risks by deterring margin trading (speculating on credit) in EMC2.

Einsteinium Crypto-Debit Card Planned

EMC2 has some interesting features including Zero Risk, which is an insurance policy for Einsteinium with a small premium. There are a number of applications for it, including EMC2Me a crowdfunding platform for research, an EMC2 mobile wallet, and a “Super Wallet” that allows for the buying of EMC2 via credit cards; presumably Visa and MasterCard.

An Einsteinium debit card that will allow the use of the currency is also on the drawing board. The Einsteinium website did not say what brand of debit card it would issue but claimed it can be used for brick and mortar purchases.

Another use for EMC2 will be to promote education. The details of education funding at the Foundation’s website are not clear. An Einsteinium software development kit (SDK) that works with a variety of languages including Java and Magneto is available. The SDK is supposed to allow users to add Einsteinium’s application programming interface (API) to any website or app.

Einsteinium might be a good long-term investment because of the functions and interest in it. Value investors should consider buying national and taxable cryptocurrencies – because they have a lot of potential for growth.

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